Device for feeding plates onto a conveyer



May 7, 1935. JJF. KOHLER DEVICE FOR FEEDING PLATES ONTO A GONVEYER Filed May 31, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY May 7, 1935 J. F. KOHLER DEVICE FOR FEEDING FLATES ONTO A CONVEYER Fil'ed May 51, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

May 7, 1935.

J. F. KOHLER DEVICE FOR FEEDING'PLATES ONTO A CONVEYER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 31, 1933 I i ZiNYEETZR 7 TTORNEY' a y 1935- J. F. KOHLER 2,000,761

DEVICE FOR FEEDING PLATES ONTO A GONVEYER Filed May 51; 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY May 7, 19 35.

.1. F. KQHLER DEVICE FOR FTEEDING PLATES ONTO CONVEYER Filed May 31, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY y 3 J2 i/ I Q ATTORNEY.

1 UNITED Patented May'7, 1935 s DEVICE] FOR j 2,000,; I V V FEEDING Pmi'rits ONTO A CONVEYEB/ t 'J'i Kama, .Whitefifih NLY. liApmicafionMay 31,1933, seriaiNn. 673,707 I In co-pehding application Serial No."6 3 3 275 I have shown and described a circular pie individually, onto the plate holders of the car rier of a pie making machine or on any other .ztypecf carrier which isa'dapted toreceive plates or other n efnhers in successiveorder as the carrier moves in relation to the plate feeding apparatus.

I have shown the present inaehine as conne't ed up withand' driven in s'ynchr'onismwiththe machine shown in my said co-pending application in order to show" one embodiment oi my in vention. The present invention includesa plate carriage adapted to be shifted in position'and on: which a plurality of" stacks of plates are adapted tobeplaced: -While' this carriageis'in' one position the plates are automatically lifted andare takeh'singly from thetop'of onetstack and placedone by oneiiipon the'plateiholders.

When the plates efthisistack are-exhausted,the"

carriage is'shifted imposition-and the" plates are taken from the top of the second stack."

While the plates are beingfed'ifrom" the sec-' 0ndstackana'ttendant'may supply a new stack 0:5 plates in the position from which the first stack was taken.- 'Tnus, thetplates are alternately takenfionia plurality of stacks so that There is a'device arranged to take" plates individually from thetop of the stack byma'gnetic' action, that is tosay, it is adapted to liftxthe. platesmagnetieally, swing the"platesvinto'positionzoverthe plate holder ofthe turret and then the turret."

Zhese operations'areall so tii'riedthat' one plate is placed on each plate holder of the tu'ri'et as it comes into posi'tion'to -reoeive it Qther obj eots and adv aiitages will beset forth in the following detailed: description of my" invent on;

In the drawings forming part "ofqthis appli cation, i v i Figure 5 is elevation with parts broken or pa ts ofthe drive'mecha'riis'mf vice; for raising the stack of plates on the,

and sh'owing part of the plate flifting 'device,

before theplate is conveyed under the first? "dough sflp'lying apparatus? release the plate so that itfallsinto positlon'on' p iramew ork'ofthe pie makingmachine by pr 6s A to fixfthposition'of"the"fe eding devicein :lation to the" pie making machine at sych" a l io l'deis l jiist hefore the platesf'a're lcafried derthefir'st qugii-suppi ifigapparatus. v

"Figure shown in my said .co-pending applieation and aiso illustrating the apparatus forming' the sub- 0 ject -mafier of my present invention; r 5

' lT'ignre' Z is a iront'elevation thereof;

igur'e-B is an end elevationthereof; I Figured is. a sectional vie W:showing priiia cipally the carriage for holding the stack of plates,

fFigare 6 is a sectional view showingthdefcarriage, H V I s Figure isla sectional view sho wing the rheaiiis for alten' ately raising'the' plurality of stackson rc r 'e l y i :i J Q:

Figure 8 is'fja sectional View showing similar parts and also the plate lifting memben U Fig ui'eeis a sectional View showing a part or the platedifting device, a

' Figure lGis an'elevation, partly brokenaviay';'

Figure 11 is a detailed sectional view,

Figuralz isajdetaiIedsectiOnaI view of pa rt' of'tlre plate'lifter v P i Figure 13 isa seetionalvievv showing part of theplate lifter in" elevation; and

Figure 114 is an elevatiozfwith parts broken;

away andshowing the magnets for lifting v p sgfui We v t 'Ifithe' dr wings I have shownpart of the, till ret i for .conveying plates in a circulaif fiathf Whilehavingpie'crust dough and filler applied 3 thereto; and thisicorresponds with-the turret a my said (ad-pending application; This turret"- revolvesin aeircular pathand there are at ranged on it circular plateholders 2 each adaptedito receive andfhold'a pie plate, where the'inveritioh is applied to a' pie machine, and** these' pi'eplates' travel in acireular path are id the' axis of the turret; My present; apparatns-is'gf,

arranged to supply plates to theplate'fholders" f I have shown a framework 3 attached i In an upper position or above" the, libri'iontal v, an'i S win a t ii fv th'tur'ret of a pie" making machine such as is Y I plane of the plate holders 2 I have shown a pair of arms 5 arranged parallel to each other and connected by a lateral shaft 6 on which the magnetic device is mounted. The opposite ends of the arms, that is, the portions which are on the opposite side of the axis of the cross shaft 5 there is mounted a counterweight l which serves to counterbalance the plate engaging magnets in order to make the mechanism run smoothly. The magnetic plate gripping device carried on the shaft 8 extending between .the arms 5 is adapted to pick up the plate on the top of the stack when inthe position shown in Figure 3; and when the arms 5 are swung over anti-clockwise in Figure 3, the magnet carries a plate to a position directly over one of the plate holders 2 and then releases the plate in order to drop-it onto the holder. In order to oscillate the plate holder I have shown a gear 9 mounted on the end of the shaft 6 and this is rocked or oscillated by means of the rack bar Ill which slides vertically in the guiding bracket H and serves to oscillate the arms 5. v The magnets remain perpendicular while traveling from the position over the stack of plates until it reaches the position over the plate holder 2. In other words, the plate remains i a horizontal plane 'whilebeing lifted from the stack onto the plate holder; It will be understood that these plates are made of iron or other magnetic metal so that they may be attracted by the magnets and carried from the stack onto.

the holder.

The rack bar It is given a reciprocating motion because it is connected by a pin 12 to the face of the sprocketwheel iii the latter being driven in the manner hereinafterdeSCribed.

The carriage for holding the stacks of plates includes a top plate is equal in width to the largest size plates which are to be handled, and corresponding in length with the diameter of two or more plates in order to receive a plurality of stacks thereon. This carriage is mounted to reciprocate onjthebars !5 (see Fig. 7 and is provided with grooved rollers l6 which rest upon and travel along these bars to make the carriage easily movable in the direction of its length. The carriage'is provided with vertioally extending posts to hold the stack of plates from being disturbed on the carriage and for this purpose I have shownfour posts H for confining one stack of plates and adjacent thereto four posts l8 for confining another stack of plates. a a a It will be understood that the plates are always taken at the same position and the carriage is made movable merely to bring a new stack into position after one stack has been removed from the carriage.

Where the carriage is designed to hold two stacks of plates, there will be two stack lifters arranged centrally in relation to the several sets of posts l7, l8. There isa post l9 extending through the plate Id of the carriage and between brackets 20 mounted on the under side of this plate. This post is adapted to move ver- 7 tioally and it has atop disc 2| on which a stack of' plates is received so that when the post I9 is moved upwardly step by step it lifts the stack of plates, which are taken singly from the top of the stack and placed on the plate holders 2.

There is another similar post 22 also movable vertically and having a top plate 23 to receive another stack of plates thereon and to lift'the same vertically between the posts ll.

These posts I9, 22 are preferably lifted step by step in increments equal to the thickness of the individual plates, so that for each operation of the plate lifter the active stack is moved up to bring the top plate in the same position as the plate previously removed from the stack.

The posts 59, 22 are brought alternately into register with the plate lifting device, as shown in Figure 2, and the raising of either post takes place only when it is positioned in vertical alignment with the plate lifter. To accomplish this I have provided the following mechanism: As shown in Figure 7, there are two parallel shafts 24, 25 mounted on the frame of the present device below the carriage and these shafts are geared to move together by means of the intermeshing gears 28, 21, arranged on the right hand ends of these shafts in Figure '7. The shaft 25 is driven through these gears from the shaft 24. The latter, which is the upper shaft in Figure '7, projects through the frame and on one. end it carries a ratchet wheel 28 which is operated in the manner hereinafter described, intermittently in one direction. There is a ratchet wheel 29 attached to the shaft 24 inside the frame and a hold-back or detent pawl 30 engages'the teeth of this ratchet to prevent retrograde movement of the shaft 24.

On the upper shaft 24 there is a collar 3! secured adjustably to the shaft by means of a set screw 32 and associated with this collar is a clutch member 33 having clutch teeth 34 facing to the left in Figure 7. There is a cushioning spring 35 between the collar 3| and the clutch member 33. There is arranged to slide freely along the shaft 24, a second clutch member 36 which is formed on one end of the hub of a gear 31. v

There are angular brackets 20 as stated above, bolted to the under side of the table or platform of the carriage and these lie on opposite sides of the gear 3'1. At one end ofthese brackets there is an intermediate block 38 to form a guide for the reciprocating post It. This post is provided with rack teeth 39 which meshwith the gear 3'! so that the latter may raise the post I9 whenever the gear is driven. The post itself is guided to move in an aperture in the carriage plate land between the angle plates 25 and the intervening member 38. The gear 37 is driven only when the clutch member 35 interlocks with the clutch member 33 which will be when the carriage is shifted to the right in Figure 7;

as will be more fully explained in the description of the operation.

On the lower shaft 25 in Figure 7 there is mounted a collar 48 corresponding with the collar 3!, and there is also a clutch member 41 which revolves with the collar and with the shaft 25 but the clutch faces in the opposite direction to the clutch 33 on'the shaft 24. The co-operating clutch member 42 is formed on the hub of the gear 43 and this clutch member faces in the opposite direction to the clutch member 36.' The gear 43 and its hub are loose on the shaft 25 so that they revolve with the shaft only 'when the two clutch members 4!, 42 are in locking engagement with each other which will be when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 7. I

The angle plates 44 correspond with the plates 20 but face'in the opposite direction, and they stood-'20:";

43asviewed in Figure 7 whereas. the post lilis a disposed below thegear; 3'! inthisfigure be cause the two shafts 24, 25 revolvein; opposite directions and for this reason the posts are disposed on 31, 43;.

There isalso a guiding block 46 fixed between the-ends of the brackets 44 to form the third.

'w'ill'be disengaged because the gear 43' and its 20:

hub, swell as the post 22 will move to the right, with the carriage. y .c

When this-shiftingof thecarriage to the right takes place, therefore, the gear 43 will cease to raise the post 22. While the carriage is in the. position indicated in Figure 7, the clutch mem- .bert 36- is disengaged from the clutch member 33 and the gear 3'! is at that time not in a position to be operated. However, when the carriage is moved to the right, as just described, the clutch ,members 45, 42 are automatically disengaged as stated above, and the clutch member '36 is moved into engagement with the clutch member 33 at the time the post 19' comes into vertical alignment with the plate lifting device. The gear 3? will nowbe revolved with the shaft 24 and it will actonthe rack teeth 39 of the post #9 to raise the latter.

It will be apparent fromthe above that when,

the carriage is in the position shown in Figure 7 the post 22 ismovedupwardly by the gear -43 which at this time is driven with the shaft 25 through the engagement of the clutch members 4l',,42. On the other hand, when the carriage is moved to the right theclutch members 41, 42 disengage as the gear '43- is shifted along the shaft 25'. a a V l At the same time the gear 3? slides along the shaft 24 to the right in Figure! until the clutch v members 36; 33 engagawhereupon'the gear 3? revolves with its shaft 24 and it raises the post, 19.

It is not necessary to propel the posts downwardly after the stack hasbeen lifted. As the clutch members disengage, the gear 31' or the gear 43, as the case may be, is free to, revolve upon its respective shaft, and the weightrof the post and its top member will cause the correspondinggear to turn backwardly' or in" the re-' verse directionto its movement when being'clriven from its shaft. r I 1 In order to cushion the downward movement of each post, I have provided a washerlsfattached' to the bottom end of each post by 'means of a screw 50 and this washer engages against the three sides of the tubular housing 5 l' and one side of the member 52 so that the air within the chamber formed by these'members is compressed upon the downward-stroke of the post. At the bottom of the tubular member 5| there'is attached the plug 52 for closing theend of the raceway inwhich the post moves, and this plug is -provided with asmall aperture 53- to permit the'slow escape of air: under the post. These \parts; inother words, formiad h ot to cushion:

opposite sideswof the respective gears' the dow'nward fall of the post,. The construc' I tion: is the same'for both posts.

, c As statedaabove, the two shafts 21-, as are r-i volved through power appliedft'o the upper; one

24. On tone end of thislatter'shafit; which pro-; ii jects beyonduthe frame; there is a largeratchet wheel28' which is fixed-to theshaft, There is a triangulzuly shaped lever-54 loosely pivoted on thegshaft 24 and thislever is rocked by means oi- 101 i the lever, the pin being fixed to one side; of the a crank pin 55 which engages in the slot. 56 of sprocket 5! mounted on the stud: shaft 58. 5

As this sprocket 51 revolves, it causes an os'cillating movement of the lever 54; Adjacent, one

of the angular portionsv of this lever thereyis pivotally mounted a pawl 59 the-point of which is adapted to enter between the teeth of the,

ratchet whee1 28' so that. as the lever 54 1s oscillated, the ratchet is advanced one-tooth in -a.

counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3,

for the purpose of turning the shaft 24 step;

-bystep. '1

Asthetwo shafts 24,25 are: geared together the step by step' movement*afiectsboth of these shafts and causes the p'ostsztobe singlyraisedv step by step about the thickness of a plate; There is a spring 60 connected with a stationary pin on the lever 54 andwith a pin on the side. of the pawl 59 to hold the latter in-en'gagement I with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 28.. As was.

explained above; the ratchet wheel 29 on theshaft 24 is engaged by-adetent 3-0110 prevent retrograde movementofthe shaft 24 when the pawl 59 is escaping theteeth of the ratchet 28;

The sprocket wheelpifn referred to above driven by an endless chain B l which-- is driverr by a small sprocket-i 62 arranged on a shaft '63.

This shaftiis driven from' the main or power shaft 64 by means :Of the sprocket wheel 65-.

mounted onithe latter, the sprocket wheel 86' mounted on the short shaft63, and the endless chain 61 running over these sprocket, wheels;

Through these connections power is transmitted from themain shaft to themechanism which;

drives the plate lifting poststand thereis ,aispeedreduction through the difference insiz'es of the two sprockets: 6-2, 51' as well as through the-dif ference in thesizesofv the sprockets 65', 66.

C'arriageshifting mechanism.There' is alink 68' shown clearly in Figuren2, one end of which is pivotally connected-vat 69 with the: reciprocate ing carriage. A v t V l This link, driven in; the manner-to be de-- scribed, moves the carriage back-and: forth along the rails- !5 for the purpose of bringing the posts" [9, 22 alternately in position to deliver plates:

to the platevlifting device. The opposite end of; this link;is pivoted at 10 to the faceof the disc H which is mounted on a shaft 'IZL'LThis disc is shown as having two notches I3 disposed opposite each other and extending inwardly fromthe edge of the disc. One side of the notchis full while the other is slanted off as 'shown'at 14.

There is a pawl pivoted on the pinglfiand the forward end of this pawl is adapted to engage in the notches 13 of the disc 'I l each time the disc is revolved one halfrevolution, which cor-1 responds with the right and left positions ofthe} carriage; so that the latteris held in either" of-its extreme positions :while the stack of plates is being removed therefrom.

As shown in Figure 5-, there is a clutch 'l lr arrangedto revolve on'the-shaf-t 12. This is an ordinary disc :or slip clutch which "is adapted to be, operated: when-itds thrown into active condi tion by the leverar'ms 78 carried by the clutch. These arms are adapted to be thrown-out to render the clutch active by means of the cone shaped member 19. This cone shaped member is provided'with a circumferential groove 89 in which engages a pin or roller 8| carried by the lever arm 52 which is pivotally mounted. on a portion of the frame at the point 83. The rocking of the lever arm 82 causes the cone shaped member 79 to be shifted along the shaft 12 for the purpose of operating the arms 78 to throw the friction clutch into or out of operation.

- There is a tripping member 84 mounted on one side of the ratchet wheel 23 and this member has a nose 85 which engages the pin 86 also carried by the lever arm 82. At each revolution of the ratchet wheel 28 the tripping member 85 engages the pin 86 and it causes the lever arm 82 to be swung to the right in Figure 5, thereby operating the arms 18 to throw the friction clutch into operation. When this clutch is thrown into operation the shaft 12 on which the disc H is carried will be revolved. There is also attached to the side of the ratchet wheel 28 a tripping member 87 which engagesin the notch 88 in the rear arm of the pawl 75. The spring 60 attached to one end of the same arm and to a stationary'pin on the frame, normally holds the'pawl 15 in the position shown in Figure 5 in which position one end of the pawl engages in one of the notches 13 of the disc "H. During the revolution of the ratchet wheel 28 the tripping member 81 acts on' the rear arm of the pawl '15 to release the pawl from the notch of the disc?! in order to unlock this disc and permit it to be revolved; and immediately thereafter the tripping member 84 engages the pin 86 and rocks the lever 82 to throw the slip clutch into operation so that the disc II will be revolved. The operation will continue until the disc has made a half revolution, at whichtime-the pawl 15 will enter the opposite notch 13 in the disc "H and lock the latter against further revolution.

- The tripping member 34 will disengage from' the pin 86 just about the time the disk H com-'- pletes one half revolution. Whenever the disc H is revolved a half revolution it will operate through the link 58 to shift the carriage to the :right or left to bring the stack lifting devices On the end of this shaft opposite'thesprocket 93 there is a mitre gear 95 which meshes with and is driven by the mitre gear 95 on the main shaft 64. Power is transmitted, therefore, from the main shaft through thesegears, sprockets and chains to the slip clutch device for the purpose of drivingthe carriage back and forth along its tracks. 1

The electromagnet 9'!" shown in Figure M is mounted on the bars 98 clamped on the shaft 8 of the plate lifting device and it consists of the two spools 99 each having a pole piece connected by the iron bar I leaving the opposite .poles exposed to act on the intervening portion of the pie plate It?! as shownv in Figure 14. When current is sent through these spools the magnet becomes active and grips the pie plate, as shown in Figure 14, and it continues to grip the plate until the latter has been swung over the plate holder 2 of the turret, whereupon the current is broken and the magnet drops the plate onto the plateholder.

On the shaft I02 there is mounted a revolvable make and break device consisting of a supporting member 33 having mounted thereon an insulatingplate I06. There is set into a recess in this insulating plate an arcuate shaped contact member I65 to lie fiush with the outer surface of the insulating member 104. There are twocontact members or brushes 06 which are mounted on and insulated from the bracket l0! and these contact members or brushes press against the surface of either the insulating block N14 or the conducting member I05.

It will be apparent in Figure 13 that as the member I03 revolves, the insulating lock I04 will be in contact with the brushes 106 during approximately half a revolution and there will therefore be no current passing between the conducting cables I 58.

On the other hand, during another half revolution of the shaft H32 the brushes will both be in contact with the face of the plate I65, which is of conducting material, so that the circuit will be closed between the brushes and current will be closed through the circuit which includes the wires 108.

. These two wires are connected with any suitable souroe of current such as a battery or a main supply line and they are also connected with the spools of the magnet so that during approximately half a revolution of the shaft Hi2 the magnet is energized and during the other half revolution the magnets are de-energized. The time during which the magnet is energized corresponds with the time when the magnet is in position to attract a plate from the top of one of the stacks and until the plate is carried over the plate holderZ and at that time the magnet-is tie-energized to drop the plate on the plate holder. The magnet remains de-energized from the'time it drops the plate until it is swung back into position to grasp another plate from the top of the stack.

I have provided means for causing the magnet to hang in a horizontal position while the arms are swinging back and forth or to the left and right in Figure 3. For this purpose I have provided a sprocket H0 fixed to the shaft 8 which carries the magnet. Around this sprocket engages an endless chain H! which also engages around the sprocket 99 and the latter is fixed against turning in the following manner: The bearing member H2 formed in the stationary bracket It supports one end of the sleeve H4 which is held from turning by the set screw H5 extending through the member H2. This sleeve has a'bore M6 to receive one end of the shaft 6 in which the shaft may freely revolve while the sleeve remains stationary.

The hub H! which carries the arms 5 is mounted to revolve on the sleeve I 4 between one end of the bearing member H2 and one end of the hub H8 of the sprocket wheel I08. The hub of the sprocket wheel is provided with a set screw H9 which engages the sleeve H4 thereby locking the sprocket wheel against revolving motion, although the hub ll'l may nevertheless revolve in relation to the sleeve.

It will be apparent that when the arms 5 are swung from a position over the stack of plates to a position over a plate holder on the turret, or vice versa, the sprocket H0 carried by the shaft 8 will move in an arcuate path, the center 7 moving from the stack of plates of which is the axis of :the shaft 6. 5A5 the sprocketwheel lllsisheld against rotation-,itwill be apparent that when the-.-spro.cket I H] is mak Operation 'When the main shaft -64 is driven it notonly revolves the turret of the pie makingimachine as shown herein, but in addition the mainshaft drives the various mechanisms for feeding the plates. The operations of many of the parts have been described above but I will outline the various movementswhi-ch take place during one complete cycle of "the plate feeding device.

Let it be assumed that the plates in Figure 4 are the last twoplates of astack which has been ,fed upwardly by the rising movement of the post 19. At this time or previous "to this time the operator willyplace a new stack of plates between the posts 11 and resting on the head 23 carried by the post 22. This he may readily do because these posts 11' areshifted out of operative' position and are therefore in position to receive anew stack of plates. @Pref ably, the stack -m tron-and to hold it so momentarily.

jber of plates, say one ghundred.

j During one .complete cycle of the machinefthe' rack bar it will rise and fall due 'to'the :c-rank motion imparted to it by the sprocket l}. i 'I'h-is wil cause th p a i t vic i din the arms 15, to sw n r m epos i 'n' wn in Figure .2 in a. counterclockwise directionfluntil the magnets and the plate. are moved over one of. the plate holders 2 pf'the turret and thenthe plat carr in d v ejfsw s ck to t e position shown in Figure'B,

While th Plat li t ng ev e i thus sw nging back, and forth from one position'to the other, th ma et remains su e d stead ofr v l ine' about hasha T s d etothe 'factthat the chain I'll which engagesover the stationary sprocket 109 causes'the shaft Ito turn sufficiently while the arms 5 are swinging, to retainithe magnetdevice in thesame vertical position throughout the movement of the arms 5. r

While the platelifting device is in the posi tion shown in Figure 3, the-lifting magnet is energized because the'plate 185 onthe contact control engages the brushes I06 and thereby closes the circuit which includes the magnet.

This circuit remains closed while the magnet isyiiftjngthe-plate from the top of the .stack so that the plate is carried over by the magnet to the position over the plate holder and when the piate is directiyover the plate'holderlthe circuit is broken *bythe disengagement of the contact member 1135 from the 1b'rushes,*whereupon the plate falls upon the plate holderto *be. carried around by the latter.

The circuit .remains broken until the plate holder again :returns to the position shownin Figure 3, ready for a succeeding operation; The means for members 41', 42.

When the carriage was shifted to i I transmitting-power to thesprocket lam; been previously described. I r

:The ratchet wheel .28 is designedgto have teeth corresponding in number with the number of plates in the stacks which :are applied :to the carriage, and for convenience in description it may be assumed that there are one hundred teeth on this ratchet wheel and thateach-stack of plates placed upon the-carriage will consist of one hundred plates. Ataeach revolution of the crank pin 55 traveling wit-h the. sprocket wheel .5! the lever 54 will berocked and 512116 pawl 59 will advance theratchet wheel 28 ,one tooth. V

This will elevate the post [9 one step-or thickness of one plate at each operation, sogthat' as a plate is lifted from the top of'the stack the stack itself is "raised to bring the next succeeding plate into the same position as the one removed. Assuming that a new stack has :been supplied to the carriage between the posts -l-| it will be apparent that after two more plates have been removed from the platform 'on the top of the post IS the stack of platesbetween the posts ;|8 will become exhausted.

The operation of the carriage shifter .so

--timed that as the last plate is aboutftoybe {ta-ken from the above post 22- thepawl 15 will :be

:trippedto unlock the disc 1;! ,and immediately 7 after the tripping member :84 engages {the :pin 8.5, v

and shifts the leveryliz to the left in :Figure 1 3 and to the right in Figure 5.; andvthis will cause the pin 181 to act on the cone member 5H! .a-nd j shift it to the right in Figure 51or to :the T left in Figure 3, so that the cone .acts ion the clutch arms .18 tot-hrowithe friction clutch intoroperaa ;As soon as the clutch is thrown intojoperation the shaft 1-2 and "the .disc :H will :be revolved until they have completed one :half revolution, whereupon the pawl 515 'will. zreengage infxthe notch :13 of the disc ll, opposite to that :froin which it had just .disengagedys'o' that the pawl will stop the disc after one half: revolution.

the nelwistack of plates supplied over :the post l9 and between the posts l8 will be brought feeding. position; A new stack offiplates 'may During the half revolution of; the disc just ide-- scribed, the link 68 connected with it will have shifted'the carriage along its tracks l5 so that then'be placed between the posts I! ready to,

be shifted into plate receiving position.

.;Before the carriage was shifted in the above operation, the gear'43 was being'revolved with the .shaft through the action of the clutch At suchtime the gear 31 remained idle. the right in theabove operation, the clutch-ill was disengaged fromthefilclutch 42' and the 'postr22 was allowed to descend by gravity be it cause there was then nothing to' restrain the turning of the gear 43 in'the reverse direction to its feeding operation. i i i When the post 22 falls down by gravity, the

- action is; cu'shionedlby reason 'of the actioniofthewasher lil forcing air through the small port 7 '53. When'the carriagewas shifted to the'right in Figure? in the above operation, the clutch member 36 was thrown into engagementwith the clutch member 33 as the post [9 came into plate feeding position. The gear 31 isnow revolved with the shaft '24 step bystepsothat ,the post ['9 with its stack of plates is raised step by-step in timed relation withthe plate feeding. operations. .On.the next half. revolution ofthe disc H the pitman 68 is moved to the left t the positionshownin'Figures 2 and '7, and this brings, the post 22 into plate feeding position and the post l9 away from feeding position, or in other words, the parts are restored tothe position shown in Figure 7.

It will thus be apparent that the carriage is automatically shifted from one position to the other just as the plate feeding device takes the last plate of the stackfor delivery onto the plate holder, so that a new stack of plates is fed into position as soon as the preceding stack has been fed.

fIheshafts 24, '25 which cause the feeding of the stack of plates are operated, as above described, by the action of the pawl 59 on the ratchet wheel 28. Retrograde movement of this ratchet and of the shafts 2d, 25 is prevented by the holdback pawl 39 which escapes over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 29 on the shaft 2 By having-the power for operating the different branches of the present mechanism taken directly or indirectly from the power shaft 54, from which the turret is' operated, the movements of the various parts of the plate lifting device synchronize with the movement of the plate holdersso that one. of the latter is in position to receive the plate at the time the plate carrier presents a plate over the holder.

It will be apparent from the above that I have provided an automatic plate feeding device for feeding plates singly from a stack onto a holder and that the only operation to be carried out by the attendantis that of supplying stacks of plates to the carriage as the latter is shifted into position to receive the stack. By having means for holding a plurality of stacks of plates on the carriage, which are alternately replenished, the plate feeding device may operate continuously or in other words, it need not be stopped to receive a fresh supply of plates.

WhileI have described my invention as applied to a machine for feeding plates to holders,

it is apparent that other metallic objects may be fed tool from receiving means.

Having described my invention,what I'claim 1. An apparatus of the character described, including means for supporting a stack of plates in proximity. to a traveling support, a shaft, arms carried thereby, an electrcmagnet carried by said arms and adapted to take a plate from said stack and deliver it onto said support, a gear on said shaft, a rack bar for operating said gear, a second shaft having crank means for operating said rack bar, a revolvable circuit controlling member mounted on said second shaft and brushes co-operating' with said circuit. controlling means whereby said electromagnet will bealternately energized and de-energized by the action of said circuit controlling means.

2. An apparatus of the character described, including a movable support, a pivotally mounted plate lifter arranged to take plates from a stack and to deliver them on said'support, a carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, means for moving said carriage to bring the stacks of plates successively into. position to be fed by said plate feeding device, and means for feeding the. stacks upwardly to said .plate lifting device while the stack is in position to be acted upon by said plate lifting device.

3. An apparatus of the character described,

spawn feeding position and to allow the same to descend' when said carriage is shifted, whereby the stack lifting'means will'be in position to receive a new stack of plates when moved out of plate feeding position.

4. An apparatus of the class described including means for supporting a stack of plates in proximity to a traveling support,a pivotally mounted plate lifter arranged to take the plates from a stack and to deliver them upon said support, a movable carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, bars for individually lifting said stacks of plates, said bars/having racks thereon, gears for operating said racks and means for shifting said carriage to bring the stacks of plates successively into position to be fed by said plate lifter; y, j '5. An apparatus of the character described, including a traveling support, a pivotally mounted plate lifter arranged to take plates from 5 dashpots for cushioning the downward movement of said posts.

6. An apparatus of the class described, including a traveling support, a pivotally mounted plate lifter arranged to take the plates from a stack and to feed them onto said support, a reciprocating carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, vertically movable posts on said carriage fcrlifting the individual stacks, meanson said carriage for operating said posts when in plate feeding position, shafts,

clutch members on said shafts and co-operating clutch members on said carriage, means for reciprocating said carriage to bring the stacks of plates successively into plate feeding position and for throwing said. clutch members into and out of operative relation, whereby said posts will be in operative relation with said shafts when. in plate feeding position.

'7; An apparatus of the character described including a traveling support, a pivotally mounted plate lifter arranged to take plates from a stack-and place them on said movable support, a carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, posts for individually lifting said stacks in relation to the plate lifting means,

parallel shafts having oppositely arranged clutch members thereon, gears on said carriage for raising said posts, clutch members associatedwith said gears andadapted to alternately engage the clutch members on said shafts, and means for reciprocating said carriage to bring the stacks of plates successively into plate feeding position and to alternately throw said clutch devices into and out'of operation whereby each post will be rendered operative when in plate carriage 'while' one stack is being fed and to t unlock said revolvable member to permit said I feeding position.

8. An apparatus of the class described, includ-, ing a traveling support, a pivotally mounted plate lifter adapted to take plates froma stack and to deliver them on said support, a carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks'of plates,

means for shifting said carriage to bring the stacks of plates successively into plate feeding position, means for raising said stacks when in plate feeding position, and means for operating said last mentioned means step by step.

9. An apparatus of the class described, includ ing a traveling support, a pivotally mounted plate lifter adapted to take plates from a stack and to deliver them on said support, a carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, means for shifting said carriage to bring the stacks of plates successively into plate feeding position, means for raising said stacks when in plate feeding position, and means for operating said last mentioned means step by step, including a ratchet Wheel having teeth corresponding in number to the number of plates in the stacks on said carriage, and means including atpawl for engaging said ratchet wheel to move the same step by step. 7 I

10. An apparatus of the class describedin eluding a traveling support, a pivotally mount-- ed platelifter arranged to take plates from a stack and place them on said support, a movable carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, means for individually lifting each stack in relation to the plate lifting means, means for shifting said carriage to bringthestacks of plates into plate feeding position and means for locking said carriage periodically and for unlocking said carriage to permit it to be shifted when a stack of plates has been fed therefrom in order to permit a successive stack" member shifts said carriage to bring successive.

stacks of plates into feeding position, means for locking said revolvable member to hold the carriage, to be shifted, and means for auto! matically operating said revolvable member when it hasbeen unlocked forthe purpose of moving said carriage.

12. An apparatus of the character described,

including a pivotallymounted plate lifter are ranged to take plates from a stack and to place them on amovable support, a movable carriage for holding a plurality of stacks of plates,

revolvable notched disc and means operated thereby for shifting said carriage, means for lccking and unlocking said disc, means for revolving said disc when the same is unlocked, a

ratchet wheel for operating the stack lifting means and apawl for operating said ratchet wheel and meanscarried by said ratchet wheel for unlocking said disc and for throwing said disc operating means into operation.

13. An apparatus of the character described,

including a plate lifter arranged to take plates from a stack and to place them on a' movable support,: a carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacksof plates, means for liftingsaid-stacks in relation to the plate lifter, a notched disc and means connected-therewith for reciprocat ing said carriage, a pawl" for locking said disc,

a slip clutch for revolving said disc, means for operating said stack lifting means including a ratchet wheel and a pawl for operatng the same step byv step, and means carried by said ratchet wheel for releasing the pawl which looks said disc, saidratchetwheel having means for throw- 7 ing said slip clutch into operation after said disc has been unlocked.

14. An apparatus of the character described, including a carriage adapted to hold a plurality of stacks of plates, an oscillating plate lifter adapted to take theplatcs from said stack and to feed them onto a support, means for shifting the carriage to bring individual stacks of dividual stacks toward the plate lifting device, a shaft and means operated from said shaft for operating said plate lifter for moving said carriage and for operating said stock lifting means,

JOHN F. KOHLER; 

